[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]

BELLEVUE, Wash. – July 30, 2013: Continuing
its commitment to delivering players new
Guild Wars 2 content every two weeks, ArenaNet today
announced
Queen’s Jubilee, going live Aug. 6. The update is
the third since ArenaNet officially adopted a two-week update
cadence for Guild Wars 2, setting a pace unmatched by any Western
studio and enhancing the game’s Living World through new and
exciting content for players of all abilities.

In
Queen’s Jubilee, players will celebrate 10 years of
Queen Jennah’s rule by opting to take a hot air balloon to
Divinity’s Reach, the capital of the human nation of Kryta,
and home to the opening ceremony. Once there, players can join the
festivities and compete in ceremonial combat in the Crown Pavilion,
a new gladiatorial arena Queen Jennah has commissioned for the
occasion.

Players can get an early look at the update during a livestream
with ArenaNet developers on Aug. 5 at noon (PT). To watch the
livestream, visit:
http://www.twitch.tv/guildwars2.

Among the many other new events, rewards and features included
in
Queen’s Jubilee are the following:

New Events

·
Hot Air Balloons: Queen Jennah’s court has
sent hot air balloons to transport the inhabitants of Tyria to the
celebration. Players can find the hot air balloons in the open
world and hop a fun, quick and stylish ride to the party.

·
The Opening Ceremony: Players can attend the
dedication of the Crown Pavilion, a new gladiatorial arena the
queen has commissioned for the celebration, and watch its inaugural
contest.

·
Enter the Crown Pavilion: Players will be tested
in this new mini-zone that feature mighty representations of
humanity’s enemies. Representing various cities of Tyria,
players can be named champion of a nation and gain access to unique
reward vendors.

·
Fight in the Queen’s Gauntlet: Players can
attempt to defeat in single combat increasingly difficult
challenges against unique bosses. Taking risks with special gambit
conditions will earn more prestigious rewards.

New Rewards

·
Watchwork Mechanisms: Watchwork technology –
the latest and greatest innovation in Tyria – becomes more
important as players can use watchwork parts in new crafting
recipes or as currency in the Crown Pavilion to buy items like new
rune and sigil recipes and the new Sovereign Weapon Set.

·
Mini Watchknight: Completing the Queen’s
Jubilee meta achievement will earn players a miniature Watchknight
that is modeled after the queen’s new mechanical
sentinels.

New Features

·
Account Wallet for Currency: Players can now keep
all of their currencies in one wallet that makes dungeon tokens,
coins, karma, laurels, Guild Commendations, Fractal Relics, Badges
of Honor, gems and glory accessible to any of the characters on
their account.

·
PvP Solo Queue: With new Solo Arena matches,
players can join PvP matches in a competitive environment without
having to gather a full team or fight against a pre-formed group.
Solo Arena also features its own leaderboard, so players can earn
rank without affecting their Team Arena standings.

·
Bonus Rewards for Dungeons: Now, there’s
even more incentive for braving the dungeons of Tyria. Each day,
when finishing a unique path for any explorable or story dungeon,
players will receive a bonus reward for completion – 1 gold
for explorable dungeons, 50 silver for story dungeons. These new
rewards for dungeon completion replace the guaranteed coin rewards
that previously dropped from bosses in dungeons. All other drops
from bosses have not been changed.

·
Mini-Game Rotation System: Players can take part
in the new, daily mini-game rotation that was promised by both of
the Captain’s Council candidates in the previous update. The
initial rotation includes Sanctum Sprint, Keg Brawl, Southsun
Survival and Crab Toss.